Formatting...

[WIKYD]

OK here is my issue.

I am using Calibre as my PC library. I am using iBooks on my iPad as my reader.

All of my EPUBs have been converted using Calibre. I have always converted using the out of the box settings with the following checked :

1) remove spacings between paragraphs
2) insert line between paragraphs
3) justify text
4) indent size is 0.0 em
5) Filter Style info tab - margins checked

I would say 90% of my epubs come out looking exactly how I want it. However this other 10% is my concern. In the view section in Calibre it looks different then my normal EPUBs (font or spacing between lines, font size, etc) and of course always comes out looking different on my iPad/iBooks.

Is there wa way I can find my setting on an EPUB that is formatted exactly how I want it and some how have it hard coded into my Calibre to do this to every EPUB I convert?

I am assuming that on the 10% that do not seem to format properly that there is some sort of embedded settings that override what Calibre would normally do in a conversion. Is this even a correct assumption?

After lots of google searches, etc I believe that the css may be the solution bit I am not sure so I am turning to the experts for help here.

Is there somewhere where I can see the exact listing on an EPUB that I like that tells me font, font size, spacing, line height, etc ?

Thanks...

[theducks]

Open the problem book with Calibre's Book Viewer:
Place the cursor on the line closest (above) the problem, right click: Inspect

all you ever (didn't) want to know about everything affecting that point in the book

[JSWolf]

(IMHO), paragraph spaces and paragraphs with no indents makes for very poor reading. The eye catches the paragraph space and the no indent makes it seem like a new section. All this makes for reading that is slower and harder on the eyes.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

(IMHO), paragraph spaces and paragraphs with no indents makes for very poor reading. The eye catches the paragraph space and the no indent makes it seem like a new section. All this makes for reading that is slower and harder on the eyes.

EEK! I love my books this way. All that indenting makes my eyes cross. Takes me two days to read 3xx pages indented.

Helen

[GeckoFriend]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

EEK! I love my books this way. All that indenting makes my eyes cross. Takes me two days to read 3xx pages indented.

Helen

I agree

[dwig]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

EEK! I love my books this way. ...

Then by all means reformat your personal copies the way you prefer. Don't let other's force their choices on you.

It is true, though, that most prefer an indent with no extra line spacing on both print books and on ebooks read on modern high quality displays. If you were creating books for wide distribution I would lobby you to reconsider, but since you seem to be merely creating personal editions I would suggest that you stick to your guns and reformat however you prefer.

Is there somewhere where I can see the exact listing on an EPUB that I like that tells me font, font size, spacing, line height, etc ?

Depending on how well the ePub has been created, you can easily see the formatting by opening a copy of the ePub and viewing the CSS stylesheet and/or the (x)HTML components' internal style sections. The easiest way to do this is to open them in Sigil, a free ePub editor that is well supported on this forum. Another method is to change the extension of the copy to .zip, and then extract the individual files in the ZIP archive. The CSS and (x)HTML files can then be opened in a text editor for examination.

You could also use calibre's Tweak Book function to expand the ePub to allow access to the individual components. If you are new to this, be very careful using this method as you are working on your original file and not a expendable copy.

If you need help understanding the CSS styles and their syntax, check out W3 Schools' CSS tutorials.

[WIKYD]

Thanks all for the feedback.

Yes these are for personal use and not for distribution. I started the no indent and line space as I originally started e-reading on my iphone and the indentations really caused an issue (in my eyes anyways) that I would have like 2 words on a line...when u get the areas of a book wherer there is rapid conversation going on, I felt like I was only using half my screens and soent more time always looking for the next line. The compromise was using the space between the paragraphs. It cause a little more page flipping, but less eye movement and became my preference and I carried that on to my iPad now as it is what I am use to.

When I do distribute a book, it is always the before I formate it version.

Nuff said on that...to each their own on those preferences.


I have been in Sigil in the css, but I do not see anything that tells me the font being used in there, or the line height, etc.

As a real example, here os what I see in the css on the book I cannot get to format how I want (font, font-size, etc) :

@namespace h "http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml";
.big {
font-size: 2em;
line-height: 1.2
}
.big1 {
font-size: 1.29167em;
line-height: 1.2
}
.big2 {
font-size: 1.83333em;
line-height: 1.2
}
.calibre {
display: block;
font-size: 1em;
text-align: justify
}
.calibre1 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibre2 {
display: block
}
.calibre3 {
font-style: italic
}
.calibre4 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
font-style: italic;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibre5 {
font-size: 0.75em;
line-height: normal;
vertical-align: super
}
.sgc {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-align: center
}
.sgc1 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
font-style: italic;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-align: center
}
.sgc2 {
font-style: italic;
font-weight: bolder
}
.sgc3 {
border: none;
display: block
}
.sgc4 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-align: justify;
text-indent: 0
}
.sgc5 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-align: auto;
text-indent: 0
}
.sgc6 {
font-size: 2em;
line-height: 57px
}


On the book that is formatted exactly how I like it, I see this is the css :

@namespace h "http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml";
.calibre {
display: block;
font-size: 1em;
margin-bottom: 0;
margin-left: 5pt;
margin-right: 5pt;
margin-top: 0;
padding-left: 0;
padding-right: 0;
text-align: justify
}
.calibre1 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-align: center;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibre10 {
color: inherit;
cursor: default;
line-height: 1.2;
text-decoration: none
}
.calibre11 {
border: 0;
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
height: 1em;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibre12 {
border-collapse: separate;
border-spacing: 2px;
display: table;
margin-bottom: 0;
margin-top: 0;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibre13 {
display: table-row;
vertical-align: middle
}
.calibre14 {
display: table-cell;
padding-bottom: 1px;
padding-left: 1px;
padding-right: 1px;
padding-top: 1px;
text-align: inherit;
vertical-align: inherit
}
.calibre15 {
color: blue;
cursor: pointer;
text-decoration: underline
}
.calibre16 {
height: auto;
width: auto
}
.calibre17 {
font-style: italic
}
.calibre18 {
font-size: 1em
}
.calibre19 {
color: inherit;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none
}
.calibre2 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibre3 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibre4 {
font-weight: bolder
}
.calibre5 {
display: block;
font-size: 1.125em;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.2;
margin-bottom: 0.67em;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
margin-top: 1.5em;
text-align: center
}
.calibre6 {
display: block;
font-size: 1.125em;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.2;
margin-bottom: 0.83em;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
margin-top: 0.83em;
text-align: center
}
.calibre7 {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibre8 {
display: block
}
.calibre9 {
display: block;
font-size: 1.125em;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.2;
margin-bottom: 0.25em;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
margin-top: 1em;
text-align: center;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibrerescale {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
font-size: 1em;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-indent: 0
}
.calibrerescale1 {
display: block;
font-size: 1.83333em;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.2;
margin-bottom: 0.67em;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
margin-top: 0.67em
}
.calibrerescale2 {
display: block;
font-size: 1.41667em;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.2;
margin-bottom: 0.83em;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
margin-top: 0.83em
}
.center {
border-bottom: 0;
border-top: 0;
display: block;
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
margin-top: 0.5em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
text-align: center;
text-indent: 0
}


I still do not see anything in here telling me the font style.

Also is there a way to ensure that whatever the end solution I find is that will guarentee that the seetings I put in the css sheet tab in Calibre before conversion will not somehow get over written?

Thanks...

[speakingtohe]

I am not a CSS expert but the tweak epub function (as dwig suggests) works for me. I open the stylesheet and make changes to line height, style etc.

For big spaces between paragraphs I change the conversion setting for that particular book to not add spaces between paragraphs. Usually this works.

If it doesn't I look for weird numbers and explicit sizing. For example a line height in em I would change to 1.2 or sometimes even 1. (without the em)

Same with indent I change them to zero or delete the line.

You do have a font style italic in your first example? Change it to normal, save the stylesheet and preview the result if you know where it appears. Easy to change it back or hit cancel and start over

It is pretty easy once you have done a couple takes maybe two minutes start to finish.

Helen

The nice thing about tweak epub is thatyou can change the stylesheet, save it and preview the epub it before rebuilding it. And as theducks pointed out you can narrow it down with the viewer.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by WIKYD

I still do not see anything in here telling me the font style.

Also is there a way to ensure that whatever the end solution I find is that will guarentee that the seetings I put in the css sheet tab in Calibre before conversion will not somehow get over written?

Thanks...

Run the stylesheet through the W3C CSS validator http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/#validate_by_upload

one tiny typo and a whole class can be tossed

Note Calibre Class numbers are variable in assignment. Most times calibre is the <body> class, but I have seen calibre3 in the same document ALSO. All the rest are subject to variety

If your stylesheet is getting ignored totally, check the <link> declaration for errors in name or Path as these also vary and must match EXACTLY to what is used in this document

[dwig]

Originally Posted by WIKYD

...

As a real example, here os what I see in the css on the book I cannot get to format how I want (font, font-size, etc) : ...

Neither CSS stylesheet attempts to set the font, leaving it up to the reader software and its preference settings to choose. They both do set the relative size and/or style (italic) of some classes.

They also seem to set the base font size to 1em, meaning the reader software's current setting. I say "seem to" since I can't tell what element in the HTML has which style applied. Normally calibre generates styles on an as needed basis so the .calibre (the unnumbered one) is usually applied to the <body> tag as that is the first encountered.

text-indent is the line to look at when you want to set the indent. It should usually use em as its units.

margin-top and margin-bottom set the space between the block element (<p>, <div>, ...) to which they are applied. Many people set both to fractional/decimal values, though I personally prefer to use integer values, setting margin-top as desired and margin-bottom to 0em.